More on Hummingbirds

After my last post about the birds in our yard, Mindy sent me this email:

hummingbirds. I told Justin that at some point I want a tiny tattoo of a hummingbird (not sure when or where I’d get it). In the meantime, here are some fun facts about hummingbirds:

I saw your post about the birds and that you and Dad like the hummingbirds! Justin and I love hummingbirds. I told Justin that at some point I want a tiny tattoo of a hummingbird (not sure when or where I’d get it). In the meantime, here are some fun facts about hummingbirds:

-they cannot walk- they can only perch or fly (their legs are too weak for walking)

-their tongues wrap around their eye sockets and brain (they have such long tongues to get nectar from flowers)

-a group of hummingbirds is called a “charm”

-they are the only type of bird that can fly backwards

-the smallest bird in the world is a species of hummingbird in Cuba that weighs less than a penny!

We learned these facts when we went on a tour in Costa Rica, but my favorite “hummingbird interaction” was when we were in Jamaica…

As the story goes, apparently an elderly woman living on a mountain spent years patiently waiting with tiny bottles of sugar water for the hummingbirds to come to her. Finally they did. Now it’s a hummingbird sanctuary and tourists (like us) can go there. I think it was $20 and they give you little “airplane bottles” that are filled with sugar water and the hummingbirds will perch on your finger to drink it! One of the coolest experiences ever! See pics/video attached.

Well, I cannot figure out how to add a video to my blog. The video is of Justin feeding the hummingbird--live! Oh well. 

Thanks, Mindy, for these fun facts and picture.